VBR vs VYM: how much do they really overlap?
VBR (Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF, tracking the CRSP US Small Cap Value) and VYM (Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF, tracking the FTSE High Dividend Yield) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of VBR's top 10 holdings also appear in VYM. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 266 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant.
The same companies, in both funds
These 0 holdings appear in both VBR and VYM. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in VBR | in VYM |
|---|
Only in VBR
Vanguard Small-Cap Value ETF — US small-cap value. Its biggest holdings that VYM doesn’t have:
| FLEX Flex Ltd. | 1.25% |
| JBL Jabil Inc. | 0.82% |
| TPR Tapestry Inc. | 0.66% |
| NRG NRG Energy Inc. | 0.64% |
| ATO Atmos Energy Corp. | 0.63% |
| UTHR United Therapeutics Corp. | 0.55% |
| WSM Williams-Sonoma Inc. | 0.55% |
| ILMN Illumina Inc. | 0.53% |
Only in VYM
Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF — US high-dividend. Its biggest holdings that VBR doesn’t have:
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 8.51% |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 3.14% |
| XOM Exxon Mobil Corp. | 2.53% |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 2.24% |
| CSCO Cisco Systems Inc. | 1.98% |
| CAT Caterpillar Inc. | 1.67% |
| ABBV AbbVie Inc. | 1.59% |
| ORCL Oracle Corp. | 1.57% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
VBR and VYM hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~266 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — VBR: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard); VYM: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard). Refreshed monthly. Overlap is measured across each fund’s largest holdings (top 50); the diffuse long tail barely moves the math.
See this for YOUR whole portfolio, free →VBR vs VYM — FAQ
- How much do VBR and VYM overlap?
- VBR and VYM overlap by approximately 0% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 0 of VBR's 10 largest holdings are also held by VYM. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both VBR and VYM?
- Because they hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 266 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VYM hold that VBR doesn't?
- VYM's largest holdings that VBR doesn't hold include AVGO, JPM, XOM, JNJ, CSCO. Its category is US high-dividend, versus VBR's US small-cap value.
- Which is more concentrated, VBR or VYM?
- VBR's top 10 holdings are 30% of its listed weight; VYM's are 44%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.